A supersensual bath with your boy will strengthen your bond. These couples-specific spa treatments are guaranteed to lead to a steamy good time.

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The perfect antidote to winter chills and holiday-season stress? A long and totally sensual bathtub date. It's just as sexy as skinny-dipping, only far more intimate...and beautifying to boot. So set aside time for a hot, steamy tub session for two. Use therapeutic rubs and luxurious scrubs and oils to get each other squeaky-clean, silky soft and gloriously uninhibited. "When you're in the tub with someone, you've let down all of your defenses, so each touch becomes all the more intimate," says Helen Fisher, PhD, a New York City anthropologist. At this point, you're probably tempted to plunge right in, but before you do, take time for a few prep steps to make your soak extrasensual. First, scan the spa-inspired recipes on the next two pages. (While each treatment will work wonders on its own, you can combine all of them for a bath-time blowout.) Right before you start your tantalizing treatment, set a serene scene in your bathroom. "Create a boundary between yourselves and the rest of the world," advises Celeste Dunn, president and CEO of TheGreenhouse Spa. "Turn off your phone, TV and lights. Now's a great time to use flickering (and flattering) candlelight." Put on a softly romantic CD like Sade's Lovers Rock or Bebo Gilberto's Tanto Tempo. Once your bastion of bliss is all set up, slink on in with your man...and let the pampering begin.

The Mind-Blowing Buff

Gentle exfoliation can do much more than getting rid of dulling dead cells and yielding smoother, softer skin. According to Michael Simon, a pampering pro at Ole Henriksen Face/Body spa, L.A.'s celeb mellow-out hangout, sloughing — especially with something good 'n' gritty like salt or sugar — also revs up your circulation and stimulates your sensory receptors.

1. Combine the ingredients and place the mixture in a bowl by the bath. (If you're too lazy to whip up the recipe, try Estée Lauder Crystal Glow Sugar Rub, $35.)

2. Luxuriate deux in the tub for a few minutes. Both of you should warm some scrub between your palms, then use gentle, circular strokes to massage it into each other's skin.

3. Aside from sloughing the obvious rough spots (elbows, knees, and heels), be creative: Think butt cheeks and back. "Almost every body part can benefit from this treatment," says Simon. Just keep your hands out of each other's easy-to-irritate private parts and steer clear of those sensitive nipples (for now).

4. Since this scrub tastes delicious, lick excess drippings off his chest, neck, and thighs...and encourage him to do the same to you. (Caveat: Do not lick a store-bought scrub.)

5. Finish each treatment with a warm, thorough rinse standing under the showerhead. You may have to rub each other gently to wash all the grains away.

The Supersensuous Shampoo

"People don't realize what an erogenous zone the scalp is," says Dunn. So lure your lucky man into the tub and follow Dunn's tips on giving your partner the perfect shampoo. Then let him return the favor.

1. At the same time you're drawing your bath, fill the sink with hot water and a few drops of essential oil, then submerge the towel in the mixture.

2. Invite him into the tub, sit behind him, then give him a tension-relieving face massage. Using your fingertips and slow, small circular strokes, stimulate the point between his nose and upper lip, then work your way outward and upward along his cheekbones, temples, and forehead. (Just as you would in bed, ask him what pressure he prefers.)

3. Drizzle a generous helping of shampoo (the extra lather will feel luxurious) all over his hair. We like the rich and creamy suds of Pantene Pro-V Classically Clean Shampoo, $7.30. Now interlace your fingers and place your hands on top of his head so that your palms are above his ears. Begin gently pressing and rubbing the bottom of your palms against his scalp, then work your way down the back of his head, back up toward the top, and all the way to his forehead. Improvise as needed to get all the shampoo massaged into a supersudsy froth.

4. Spend a little time kneading his earlobes (an easily stimulated area) when you're done with his scalp.

5. Fill the pitcher with clean, warm water, gently tilt his head back, then rinse out the shampoo. Since this step is supercharged with sensuality, don't be surprised at the groans, shivers, and anything else that might, um, pop up.

6. Once his hair is suds free, massage in some conditioner (if he uses it regularly), then rinse. Wring out the essential oil-infused towel, wrap it snugly around his head (the warmth will feel extrarelaxing) and massage his entire head (over the towel), neck, and shoulders. After two or three minutes, remove the towel, kiss him on the forehead and ask him to get to work on you.

The Sole-Mate Massage

While this treatment is a great way to soothe achy arches and smooth roughed-up heels, this tantalizing tootsie rub may affect more than your feet. Those seemingly innocent little piggies and the arches of the feet are surprisingly erogenous zones to many people.

1. Place the oil in a bowl by the tub. We like Neutrogena Body Oil in sesame formula, $9.90.

2. Add a bit of the oil to the bathwater so your whole body can benefit from added silkiness, says Lupita Leyva, spa director of The Spa at the Royal Sands Resort in Cancun, Mexico.

3. Sit in the tub facing your partner and cradle one of his heels in your hands. Dip your fingers into the oil, then work them around the perimeter of his foot using firm strokes.

4. Massage his anklebone for a minute or so, and while you're there, rotate his foot a few times to help release tension from his legs.

5. The inside and lower areas of the arch are the most erogenous zones of the foot, says Dunn. Tap this part's powers by placing both thumbs inside his arch, and — using slow, circular motions — work your way up to the balls of his feet, back down to his heel, then back and forth across the middle of his arch three times. Don't be insecure about your technique. Even though you're not a reflexologist, your guy will enjoy this immensely.

6. Maintaining the same kind of motion, work your way up to the base of his toes and apply gentle pressure between each one. According to Dunn, massaging these areas will also relax his eyes and ears, sending him into a dreamlike state of mind.

7. Now gently wiggle each piggy one at a time, then rinse his foot with warm water from the tap and start the whole process over on the other side.

8. Cross your fingers and hope that he's not too done in with pleasure to reciprocate.